About Me

My name is Jason Dawson and if you have chronic back pain, I'm glad that you've found my blog. After an accident, I suffered with back pain for several years until I started visiting a chiropractor. I could tell a difference in the severity of my back pain after only a few treatments. I continued seeing the chiropractor on a regular basis and today my back pain is gone. When I had excruciating back pain, I couldn't enjoy any physical activities and some days I could barely walk. I'm writing this blog so that I can help others who have back pain. In my blog you'll learn about chiropractors and how they can help you. You'll also learn some things that you can do at home that will lessen the pain in your back.

If you have been thinking about going to the chiropractor, you might be interested in learning about the

Back Pain Treatments and Tips That Work

Why You Should Put Down Your Headache Pills (And What To Do Instead)

27 October 2015
by Nandy Dannenberg

Chronic and recurring headaches can have a big effect on your quality of life. They make it hard to concentrate, hard to work, and hard to socialize. They can interfere with your appetite and sour your mood. They can even get in the way of getting a good night's sleep.

Many people deal with their headaches through over-the-counter pain medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. But these medications aren't harmless; taking them for too many days or taking an even slightly elevated dose can stress the liver and cause damage. According to the FDA, even the recommended dosage of acetaminophen can cause liver damage if you also drink alcohol.

A non-pharmacological approach to headache pain management is much safer, and the right treatment may reduce or eliminate the need to take painkillers.

Stress Management

On its own, stress management is rarely a cure for headaches. However, lowering stress is effective in two ways: it reduces your body's perception of pain, and it reduces muscle tension, which can contribute to head pain as well as stiffness in the neck, shoulders, and back.

Meditative techniques and breathing exercises are effective ways to reduce the body's stress response. Rather than avoiding stressful situations – which may be impossible – they help to create physical relaxation, lowering your heart rate and your blood pressure and reducing the stress hormones in your body.

Chiropractic Manipulation

For some people, headaches are triggered by muscle tension in the neck; this can be true even if your neck isn't sore. It is especially likely if you work in front of a computer or spend a large portion of the day seated. The problem can compound itself; neck tension and headaches can cause you to sit more stiffly, giving you poor posture, and this poor posture makes your neck tension and headaches worse.

Many people find that chiropractic manipulation of the neck is effective for treating headaches. By bringing the bones of the neck into proper alignment, tension in the neck is reduced and awkward pressure on the spinal joints is decreased. Chiropractors are also experts in posture, and working to correct your posture can also help to reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches. For more information, contact a specialist like those at North Star Chiropractic Center.

Massage Therapy

While spinal manipulation is useful for reducing neck tension, it works even better when combined with massage. This combination ensures that you're treating both the skeletal and muscular systems, which work in concert to support your head. Massage therapy is also helpful in reducing stress; many people find it to be an oasis of calm that they look forward to visiting.